October English Cafe
We had a small turnout this time, but it was a lot of fun. Delicious too!
Photos from Ontario
Milliken Wesleyan young adults group.
Last Weekend in Nagoya (Re-Cap & Photo Gallery)
This past weekend I finished my first two-year term as a GP missionary in Japan. I had a good weekend spending time with friends:
Saturday morning, I went out for breakfast with a former classmate from Japanese school and then ran some errands. Then it was back to the church to hang out with some other friends. I had them help me move boxes, and then we did some preparation for Sunday, buying supplies and making some dessert for Sunday’s party. Really great excuse to hang out with 3 good friends. We ended the day with supper together at local Yoshinoya (Japanese fast food chain, and one of the things I’ll miss about Japan).
My last Sunday at the Nagoya church was, of course, bitter-sweet. I got to give some short farewell greetings in the AM service, but as I said to them, it’s “see you later”, not “goodbye”, because I do plan to be back. I had no ministry responsibilities this week, and it was nice to just hang out, chat, and eat together with my Church Family. The day ended with a young adults party; we ate nabe, followed by some great desserts.
Here are some photos from the weekend; click on any one of them for a close up and/or to flip through the gallery.
Monday morning, my pastor and one other friend drove me to the airport. We were early enough to have lunch together and spend some time chatting before I flew out in the afternoon. It was a good ending to my last weekend in Nagoya for the year.
Now I’m back in Canada, relaxing and waiting for the jet lag to wear off. Prayers for this period of transition are greatly appreciated. I’ll try to update you all soon on what’s next.
In the meantime, enjoy the holidays while you can!
Christmas Party
Well, I’ve safely arrived back in Canada after a really long day of traveling yesterday. Since I was up super early due to jetlag, I had the time to do some photo sorting and editing. So this and the next post will bring you up-to-date on some recent events, in words and pictures…
On December 6 I had the opportunity to lead/host a Christmas outreach event at my church in Nagoya. It was a bi-lingual Christmas party we called “Christmas Around the World” (that’s the event flyer on the left). The event was well-attended and a lot of fun. There were almost 60 people who showed up, a good handful of whom were not regular attenders at the church. After some games and music (but before the sweets) I shared a short message about how Jesus came so that we could find peace with God.
Below are some photos from the party; you can click on any of them for a close-up and to flip through the whole gallery.
It was a great “bridge-building” event — thanks for praying!
Photo of the Week : Laughter & Friends
This probably isn’t technically one of my best photos, but I really like it because of the candid moment of smiles and laughter that it captures. Also: sweet view from a 5th floor window. On the left is one of my church friends, Maiko. On the right is Eric, a new friend who was visiting me in Nagoya this weekend.
The interesting thing about having someone from back in North America visit is that it gives me a fresh perspective on my life here. I’ve been in Japan long enough now that what once seemed strange now seems normal. It’s easy to forget how much I’ve learned. It’s easy to take stuff for granted. So it’s always refreshing to see it all through a newcomer’s eyes again.
This time I was reminded of just how fortunate I am to be living in such a beautiful and interesting place, and to have such a great community of Believers as my Family here. I am blessed. And I am grateful.
Photo of the Week / Chukyo Seikai Re-Cap
Today’s photo is of a retreat centre in nearby Konan, where we stayed during Chukyo Seikai on August 13-14 (the week before the Tonicam).
Chukyo Seikai is the name of this area’s annual retreat (Chukyo is the name of the area and Seikai basically means “holiness meeting”) for the denomination. I had the opportunity — and challenge — to give a short testimony in Japanese, as well as sing a couple of songs, during one of the worship services. Thanks in large part to the help of some Japanese friends who checked/corrected my Japanese manuscript, it went pretty well, I think. It was definitely a step further than last year, anyway, when I did the same thing, but in English and with an interpreter. And more importantly, I think God used me to encourage some people.